WhestTHREE signature phono pre vs. ModWright PH 9.0X

@lalitk Interesting. I've never heard of that one. Doing a quick look, it's quite a bit over budget. Looking to stay around the $4500 mark at max with a little wiggle room here and there. 

@paulietunes I agree. I have been given some good recommendations that weren't even on my radar in the past. There's so much gear out there, especially in the mid-range price points.

@audiosaurusrex Thanks for the info about the modwright. Pretty much falls in line with what I've been reading elsewhere with great dynamics and soundstage. Good to know that it performs really well in the midrange (which is very important for me since that tends to be the make or break when it comes to Jazz, at least). 

It's interesting you mention the Umami - was debating upgrading to that cartridge!

How easy is it to change the tubes in it? Is it as simple as just removing the cover and popping them in and out? 

@blisshifi @laynes Thank you both! That is valuable feedback. I haven't really see any pop up on the used market, so I assumed it either wasn't very popular at all, or people love them and don't want to get rid of them to upgrade very often!

@rsf507 i don't think so. I didn't see it there either. Still some places selling it online, but it may be discontinued. There doesn't seem to be a replacement in that price category anymore either with a stand alone power supply from them. 

Seems like the 9.0X will be the way I go! Thanks everyone.

Quick update - have had the 9.0X for a few months and love it. Was a significant, immediate upgrade from the Phonomena II+ (as I'd hope given the large price difference), and sounds fantastic. Very happy with it.

@blisshifi Thanks for those recommendations! I'll probably look into experimenting with some upgrades in the future. What sort of power cables do you recommend?

@davehg Congrats! I'm definitely loving it. I'm looking forward to experimenting with some different tubes at some point myself, but enjoying as-is as well.

I'm looking into the Umami red currently, but that will probably be my last upgrade after I swap out my speakers and amp (I have speakers being built now, and then amp to come after), so it's a little ways down the line for me. I really like the Hana ML I have now, so I can only imagine the Umami will likely take it to the next level once I have everything else dialed in.

@davehg Thanks for the update and great info!

I still havent decided on whether to go for an umami red or etsuro cobalt. My hesitancy around it is mostly because I have trouble justifying paying big bucks on a cartridge that will just have to get replaced in a year or two of use. The 4-6k price tags on these is a bit hard to swallow with this in mind. We'll see!

I've been a bit distracted lately with getting my digital front end set up - and since October of last year I've replaced my speakers, amplification, added an entire digital set (streamer + dac), and am working on replacing cables. yeesh!

@jc51373 Hi there. I posted back in sept 2023 that I had landed on the Modwright. I still have it and have since upgraded the power supply to bring the whole unit to the 9.0XT. I also picked up the upgraded umbilical cable from them and replaced the tubes. (specifics are in my virtual system notes).

It really is an astoundingly good phono pre-amp. I have zero desire to upgrade any further at this time. It's especially nice that one could just buy the base model if they can't quite swing the fully upgraded one price-wise, and then can send it back to Modwright for the upgrades down the line, if they'd like. Turn around is quite fast (it was just a couple weeks from when it left my home to when it returned).